We are very glad and proud to have you here fort this opening night, HE Godelieve van den Bergh, Ambassador of Belgium, HE Robert Ready, High Commissioner of Canada and myself as current members of the Francophonie in Jamaica.

Today is a good pick to host this event.
1 – It doesn’t rain
2 – It is la Journée internationale de la francophonie (International day of francophonie) celebrated around the world.

Just a few figures: they are more than 220 million French speaking people on the 5 continents. The international organization of francophonie counts 75 members (states and governments including 19 observers) around the world. So we are diverse, we speak French in different ways, with different accents. But beyond this diversity we not only share the same mother tongue, la même langue maternelle, we share also common values: democracy and human rights, which are translated in other languages

Tonight let us concentrate on Francophone film festival, le festival du film francophone. We are particularly happy of this revival due to three diplomatic missions in cooperation with the Alliance française de Jamaïque, a most respected old institution whose close links to the French Embassy I don’t need to recall.
(Let me in this occasion thank some of the best supporters of the Alliance and the Francophonie in Jamaica: Ambassador Elinor Felix, chief of State Protocol, Mrs Laura Tanna, President of the Club français and Pierre Lemaire.

But first thanks to Godelieve and Robert. Before giving them the floor, two words on the movie screened tonight:

It is a typical French story: Bahia Benmahmoud, a young, extroverted left-wing activist who sleeps with her political opponents to convert them to her cause is successful until she meets her match, a very cautious and serious man, Arthur Martin (in France and Belgium Arthur Martin – like Grace Kennedy in Jamaica – is not only a family name but also a well know and appreciated brand as is Grace Kennedy in Jamaica – but specialized in kitchen equipments).